Covid Vaccines | What Vaccines Are Used In The World?
According to the latest report from the World Health Organization (January 26, 2021), 173 COVID vaccines are in the preclinical evaluation stage and 63 candidate vaccines are in the human clinical trial phase. As a reminder, the minimum efficacy threshold set by the WHO is 50%. Some vaccines are already available, or should be in the coming months. Update on the main vaccines:
Moderna vaccine
The American Medicines Agency was the first to authorize the marketing of the vaccine from the Moderna laboratory (messenger RNA) on December 18. On Wednesday 6 January, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) also gave the green light: “The EMA has recommended to grant conditional marketing authorization… to prevent the disease in the elderly over 18 years, “said a statement released by the European regulator. In France, it is the High Authority of Health which gave the green light to its use, Friday January 8, 2021.
This vaccine is administered in two doses spaced 28 days apart and its formula is less complex to store: it can be stored for up to six months in a freezer, at -20 ° C, then up to thirty days in a refrigerator before use. According to the preliminary analysis published by the laboratory on November 16, this vaccine is 94.5% effective. According to a study published Dec. 3 in The New England Journal of Medicine, the vaccine would confer at least three months of immunity. The laboratory says it is ready “to produce between 500 million and one billion doses in 2021”.
Novavax
Is an American vaccine development company headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland. As of 2020, it had an ongoing Phase III clinical trial in older adults for its candidate vaccine for seasonal influenza, NanoFlu and a candidate vaccine (NVX-CoV2373) for prevention of COVID-19.
The vaccine produced strikingly high levels of antibodies in early clinical trials. In September, the vaccine entered a Phase 3 clinical trial in the United Kingdom, and another one in the United States at the end of December. Those trials will show whether the vaccine is safe and effective.
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine
The Comirnaty vaccine (BNT162b2 mRNA) developed by the Pfizer-BioNTech laboratories, was authorized at the end of December by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the European Commission, then by the High Authority for Health in France. Two injections are necessary to ensure its effectiveness and the serum should be stored at -80 ° C.
The UK was the first country to launch a vaccination campaign on December 8 on the recommendation of the UK Medicines Regulatory Agency): Margaret Keenan became the first person in the world (outside clinical trials) to receive an approved vaccine against the Covid-19, that of Pfizer. The 27 member states of the European Union were able to launch their vaccination campaigns on December 27, 2020 after validation by the health authorities of each country.
In mid-November, it was by press release, after analyzing the results of their phase III clinical trials, that the two laboratories had announced that their candidate vaccine was 95% effective. It was not until December 10 that the results of these clinical data were validated by a highly rated scientific journal across the Atlantic, The New England Journal of medicine. “Antibodies from people who received the vaccine effectively neutralize SARS-CoV-2 with a key mutation that is also found in two highly transmissible strains” identified in Britain and South Africa, the laboratory said in a published statement. January 8, 2021.
Related post: Covid-19: Johnson & Johnson announces the success of its single-dose vaccine
The AstraZeneca / Oxford COVID vaccines
The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine (AZD1222) is the third vaccine to be authorized by the European Union (green light given on January 29, 2021 for those over 18). The High Authority for Health also gave the green light on February 2, 2021 but does not recommend it for the moment to over 65s. This is a viral protein vaccine (more conventional technology). Two doses are necessary, delayed for four to twelve weeks.
The results of the phase III clinical trials, published on December 8, 2020 in the scientific journal The Lancet, confirm an average efficacy of 70.4% and find almost no serious adverse effects or deaths in vaccine recipients. However, there is a lack of data regarding its efficacy in the elderly, as the latter were recruited later in the trial. This is what led the HAS to restrict its use to those under 65. She recommends it primarily for nursing staff and people between 50 and 65 years old. The first injections should take place around mid-February.
The vaccine can be “stored, transported and handled under standard refrigerated conditions (2-8 °C) for at least six months”, which would allow general practitioners, pharmacists or nurses to dispense the vaccine.
The COVID vaccines from Sanofi and GSK
The two laboratories have developed a vaccine based on a recombinant protein, which is believed to confer stronger and longer lasting immunity against infections. But interim results from human trials launched in September showed a lower than expected immune response, especially in older people. A disappointment that led the two laboratories to announce that their vaccine could not be ready until the end of 2021 (Sanofi press release, December 11, 2020).
Sinopharm’s vaccine
Chinese group Sinopharm announced Wednesday, December 30, that one of its vaccines against Covid-19 was 79.43% effective. Two doses are needed a minimum of 28 days apart to ensure the effectiveness of this “inactivated” vaccine. He is the first Chinese pharmacist to report data on the efficacy of a vaccine in preparation, developed in Beijing by the CNBG laboratory. Five Chinese vaccines are currently in phase 3 clinical trials. Sinovac Biotech’s “CoronaVac” vaccine candidate is the most advanced.
Note: in June 2020, China was already administering the vaccine from the company CanSinoBIO to many soldiers. Since then, many cities (Yiwu, Shaoxing, Ningbo, etc.) have made the vaccine from the Sinovac Biotech laboratory available as part of emergency vaccination campaigns, especially for healthcare workers or people traveling abroad for job.
Russian vaccine Sputnik V
Sputnik V, the controversial Russian vaccine developed by the National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology of the Russian Ministry of Health (Gamaleya Center) began to be distributed in Moscow, as of December 5, 2020. It is administered in two injections and is based on viral-based technology. According to a press release published on November 11, 2020, it is 92% effective and can be stored in lyophilized form, in the fridge, between 2 and 8 ° C. The Russian authorities submitted a request for authorization in the European Union on January 20, but their vaccine has so far only been ordered by Hungary.
On Tuesday, January 19, the Russian health agency Rospotrebnadzor announced that the immunological efficacy of EpiVacCorona, the second Russian anti-Covid vaccine, was 100% (based on the results of phase 1 and 2 clinical trials).
Covaxin (Bharat Biotech)
Since mid-January 2021, India has been injecting its inhabitants with a vaccine that it has developed and produced itself. This is Covaxin, a product developed by the Bharat Biotech laboratory. But it can’t be said that Covaxin is really raising enthusiasm. Several scientists point to the lack of data on its effectiveness and safety. The vagueness also hangs over the conditions in which clinical trials are carried out: NGOs, as well as AFP, have reported “recruitments” of volunteers in poor neighborhoods.
Photo Credit: Arne Müseler / www.arne-mueseler.com Wikimedia Commons
